Alice through looking glass

Nov 6 2007 By Simon Rushworth, The Journal

Alice Cooper has been rewriting rock history for four decades in a business where longevity is a luxury. In an exclusive interview he assures Simon Rushworth that the shocks won’t stop.

AS the master of multiple personalities, it is, perhaps, no surprise that Vincent Damon Furnier boasts a redoubtable appetite for reinvention. Not content with moulding Alice Cooper into one of heavy metal’s most recognisable brands, this engaging man of many talents hosts his own breakfast radio show, plays golf off a handicap of two and is the author of one of the music books of the year. Oh, and he hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol for a quarter of a century.

When Cooper, the stage name Furnier has long since adopted as his own, was at his precocious, artistic and self-destructive peak, drink and drugs were a driving force.

Many of his closest friends and most famous peers succumbed to their addiction before they could be saved. It is no coincidence that Cooper has peppered his most effective material with tales of death and destruction; as an eyewitness to excess and the debilitating effect of success, he is perfectly positioned to pass comment on pain.

Yet this fighting fit 59-year-old is one of rock’s great survivors and a perennial optimist to boot. “The shows are what keep me in shape,” insists Cooper. “Doing two hours a night, five nights a week.

“I was a distance runner at school and it reminds me of those days – when I felt really good and in the perfect condition. I haven’t had a drink in 25 years and the non-smoking thing gives me more energy than anyone else. I don’t really miss the rock and roll side of things off stage. The fact that I get to go out there every night and perform as this ultimate anti-hero is enough for me.”

Had it not been for the Beach Boys, there may have been no anti-hero in the mould of the magnificently dark Alice Cooper. Still a high school student, Furnier had burst on to the national scene with his band the Spiders and their debut single, Don’t Blow Your Mind, became a permanent fixture on playlists across North America. But for the glorious Good Vibrations, it would have hit number one and Cooper might have stayed in the closet.

“We were still in school and our record was number two in the Billboard charts,” recounts Cooper. “The only record keeping us off top spot was by the Beach Boys. We owned that school at that time. We were five kings. At that point, we thought we were ready for LA and ready for the world. But we got to California and there were 20,000 bands like us all believing they were going to hit the big time.

“What set us apart was that we were exciting on stage and we didn’t mind what we had to do to be different. We were as good as the other bands but we had to bring something unique to the table. That something was the Alice Cooper Band.”

It may be fast approaching 40 years since Cooper penned his debut album, Pretties For You, but the premise of cutting edge entertainment prevails. When this year’s Psycho-Drama tour hits Tyneside on Friday, there will be the trademark blood, sweat and tears with added value in the shape of support acts Motorhead and Joan Jett.

“We always pick our bands carefully and you can’t go wrong with this bill,” added Cooper. “I love Lemmy (Killminster, lead singer of Motorhead) and Joan. We’re going to have a blast.”

Such is Cooper’s stock in the often fickle world of rock that he remains one of the hottest live properties around. When a slot became available on last month’s Black Sabbath/Queensryche tour, it was Cooper who took a call.

“I know both bands are playing Newcastle before Christmas and the word from the inside is that my Geordie friends are in for a treat,” he added. “Queensryche are still the thinking man’s metal and lyrically they really remind me of Megadeth. They have a message. Geoff Tate is one of the great rock and roll singers and his band is very advanced. I don’t mind mindless metal but these guys have taken their art to a different level.

“And Black Sabbath? What can I say? They’re the godfathers of metal. They’ve been at the forefront for 40 years and whether it’s been Ozzy (Osbourne) or (Ronnie James) Dio up front, it’s a great band and a must-see.

“I loved doing those dates but they were never scheduled for me originally. Rob Zombie asked us to step in at the last minute – there was a three-week window and it was just the right time for us. We went in and did an hour a night which, for us, was very weird. Trying to squeeze what we do into 60 minutes is a tall order.”

With a 40-year legacy of lyrical genius, Cooper faces a constant battle to perform the all-encompassing metal show. Yet it is here, rather than in the radio studio, on the golf course or on the written page where rock’s master of all trades truly comes to life.

“The gig is always the most exciting aspect of what I do,” he added. “The show is what Alice Cooper is all about. It’s an all-out assault on the senses and I get to do what I do best, which is entertain. The radio show (on digital station Planet Rock from 6am-9am) is really just a case of me getting to play the songs that I feel don’t get played enough. Then I get to talk about other people in the music business which is a whole lotta fun.

“I love to big them up and then kick them off their pedestal but that’s something you can do with old friends. A fellow artist can do that and have fun with that in a way a journalist or regular DJ can’t. Hey, I make fun of myself as much as anyone! The book, for me, is just an opportunity to remember things that happened.

“For anyone who doesn’t know me or know what I do then I’d say listen to my radio show, read my book and come to a gig. Do all three in 24 hours and you’ll get the picture. But if you can only do one, then see the show. That’s what Alice Cooper is and that’s what he’ll always be.” Amen to that.

• Alice Cooper, Motorhead and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts play Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Friday. For tickets, tel 0870 707 8000.